Friday, August 10, 2012

Flat Aggie's visit to Gilmer Dairy Farm

We had the honor of hosting a visitor named Flat Aggie a few weeks ago. If you have never heard of him, perhaps you have heard of his cousin, Flat Stanley. Flat Aggie is originally from California and is currently making a series of farm visits all across the country. In fact, he had just learned about cotton, peanuts, and poultry at Miller Farms in Boaz, Alabama, before coming our way.

I'd like to show you a few photos of Flat Aggie on our farm. As you will see, he made himself very useful and I'm glad to have had both his company and his assistance!

Flat Aggie endeared himself to me right from the start. We begin milking our cows at 3:00am each morning, and he already had a cup of coffee waiting for me the first morning of his visit.

In the milking parlor, Flat Aggie found a good spot where he could observe the whole process. He watched us clean and sanitize the cows' teats, attach the milking machines, and apply a protective dip to their teats once they were finished.

Before all the cows had been milked, Flat Aggie stepped out of the barn with me so we could put the cows' feed in their trough. We fed the cows a breakfast consisting of a mix of ryegrass silage, bermudagrass hay, and a corn/soy-based dairy feed.

After we had our own breakfast, The local large-animal veterinarian came to the farm to examine several cows for pregnancies. Flat Aggie had a good view of the Vet and his ultrasound machine.

Later on in the day, Flat Aggie and I prepared to apply herbicide to a field of forage sorghum. We didn't have any protective gear small enough to fit Aggie, so he had to stay in the tractor while I filled up the tanks.

Once we got to the field, Flat Aggie was a big help...I did the diving and he turned the sprayer switches on and off for me. We made quite the team!

Flat Aggie spent another couple of days visiting Gilmer Dairy Farm before heading off to the next stop on his grand adventure. I'm not sure where exactly he'll end up next, but he did mention that he would love to see a little bit of the Mississippi Delta now that he could check Lamar County, Alabama, off his list.

Meet The Dairyman:

I am a dairy farmer and family man from rural Lamar County, Alabama, a graduate of Mississippi State University, president of the Lamar County Farmers Federation, and chairman of the Alabama Dairy Producers Committee.